


Aman's Story

by Oldine



Series: Birches Grow [9]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-08 09:22:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10383429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oldine/pseuds/Oldine
Summary: This is a prequel to Midsummer. It explains future Aman and why he did what he did.





	

**De Waal Park; Cape Town, South Africa**

**December 25**

Returning to the past was an odd experience. Aman Oliveira stopped outside the park and took a deep breath. He'd been back to South Africa since that horrible day, but not to De Waal.

It had been February not December, but the sun had shone just as brightly. People laughed. Children played. Eryn packed a picnic lunch and was asking about a concert of some kind when it started. He could still picture her clearly wearing a bright colored dress and one of the dozen pairs of impractical shoes she owned.

They were happy then. Most thought he was dating Eryn. His father's connection to religious extremists kept him and Kailen in the closet. That day changed everything. He stopped pretending before the blood dried. Never again would anyone tell him who or what he should be.

Aman stopped beneath the familiar tree. Eryn selected it for the shade. She had carefully laid out the blanket she'd brought. As always, he'd offered to help and she'd insisted she could do it herself. Anyone watching would have assumed her behavior was traditional gender roles. She wore feminine dresses and could easily convince people she was like any other teenage girl. Having Chenzira Sylla for a father made that impossible.

He followed the past, its shadow in his head rather than on the ground. He'd taken the mercenaries by surprise, shooting one man in the head. Then he scavenged the body for weapons before they ran. Outnumbered and outgunned, they did not have much of a chance.

People started running before the shooting. Those with guns recognized mercenaries and had enough sense to get out of the way. He did not blame them. Few would rescue strangers. Those who recognized them would have realized someone sent armed men after Bashiri Oliveira's son. Getting involved was suicidal.

Tears welled in his eyes as the nightmare continued. They made it farther than most adults would. Then he heard Eryn cry out. She had been shot. There was nothing they could do for her. She accepted that. Kailen did not. He gave her the grenades from the dead mercenary. She bought them time. Kailen argued and struggled. It would be years before his lover accepted there was nothing they could have done.

He stood next to another familiar tree remembering the horror yet to happen. He made a deal with the devil. He would do things. Dark, horrible, insane things. She promised the end would justify the means. He would die as Ronald Beaupre intended all those years ago, and Kailen and Eryn would live.

Tears streamed down his face. They failed Eryn in the weeks, months and years following her sacrifice. Rather than escape the world that tried to kill them, they turned to it. They found Erik Basanjo and extracted information. Aman shook his head. What he was willing to do for that information scared him still. He once swore he would never be his father's son. A vow that could not have been farther from the truth.

The vendetta cost ten years. He had heard it said that if you take the path of revenge, dig two graves. He would have given his own life. Instead, it cost Kailen his. A pain that almost destroyed Aman.

To make that and everything right, he had agreed to the unthinkable. Aman sat on the ground where Eryn died and cried. The price for his redemption was the destruction of his only remaining friend's world. Under Anwen Williams control of Torchwood, the planet would burn. Her stubbornness and ignorance would kill them all.

Captain Jack Harkness had found him in Nigeria trying to drink himself to death. He had money, power and a reputation most men could only dream of. None of it mattered. Jack was investigating the black market sale of alien artifacts. Three weeks later, he left Africa with Jack for Wales. An impulsive decision that changed him.

Torchwood gave him a purpose. He fought aliens rather than his demons. He was happy for awhile. As happy as he could be. When the inevitable conflict between him and Jack made a conventional relationship impossible, he returned to Nigeria. He used the knowledge and skills he learned through his father's organization and even Basanjo to establish a very different Torchwood office. The area had more human problems than alien.

For twenty years, he and Jack had a bond forged by mutual survivor's guilt. Jack lost Ianto. He lost Kailen. Sometimes their different approaches to life and pain caused them problems. Jack recovered from Ianto's death. He held on to Kailen's as a reminder. Choosing between Jack and Kailen was one more awful choice in a life filled with agonizing decisions.

Faint sounds of movement returned him to the present. More likely than not, it was harmless. No one knew him. He drew his gun and waited. A man in his mid-twenties and two children stepped out of the trees. He wore a holstered gun and a tired expression.

“You will create a safe haven.” The girl's voice was distant and hollow. “A place where people like me will never be afraid.”

The man looked apologetic. “Forgive my sister.” He sounded Nigerian.

Aman stood. “Is she psychic?”

“It depends on who you ask. I'm Idrissa.”

“Aman.” He couldn't help but notice how much the girls looked alike. “Twins?”

“Yeah.” Idrissa kept a hand on each of their shoulders.

“We need to go,” the other girl said.

“I'm sorry. My sisters don't see things the way other people do.”

“No need to apologize.” Aman holstered his gun. “Normal is overrated.”

 

Keara said he would find someone to help him re-establish Torchwood Nigeria. She had not provided details and he made assumptions. He thought of their last discussion as he followed Idrissa and the twins. He needed to establish a different type of power base. A safe haven for psychics would provide unique opportunities. He needed to think about it.

 


End file.
